Senior golf has been quite the ride for Sarah Gallagher.
She collected the first two Georgia Senior Women’s titles for which she was eligible and the one Georgia Senior Women’s Match Play.
But her success extended beyond the Peach State last fall when she captured the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, in her first year of eligibility, defeating USGA veteran Brenda Corrie Kuehn of Asheville, North Carolina, 1-up.
Though it’s been nearly a year since her triumph, Gallagher still pinches herself.
“It’s been pretty surreal,” Gallagher said. “I don’t think it’s going to ever get old hearing that as a precursor to my name. Sometimes I still don’t believe it actually happened. It was obviously something I always wanted to achieve, and USGA championships are special. It’s been a great year.
“Maybe with a little luck on my side, I’ll get to do it again.”
Gallagher began her title defense on September 21 at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle and easily made it into the match play portion, shooting a 9-over 149 to finish T7 in stroke play and then beating Lin Culver, of Palm Coast, Fla., 4-and-2 in the round of 64.
During the months she kept the trophy in her home in Canton, about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, Gallagher couldn’t help but think back on her accomplishment and recall the memories of her shining moment in Arizona.
“I would go over every once in a while and read the names on there,” Gallagher said. “There are so many fantastic players who have their name engraved on it. I had it next to the big photo album the USGA gives to you. I would flip through and reflect.
“The bookshelf the trophy was on next to our fireplace is looking a little bare now. I definitely miss having it, and I’m looking forward to seeing it again in Seattle.”
Along with the prestige and accolades of winning a USGA championship, Gallagher was afforded the opportunity to play a practice round with arguably the best female golfer of all time, Annika Sörenstam, at this year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Gallagher took advantage of the opportunity to study the legend intently and noticed some subtle differences between her approach to practice rounds and Sörenstam’s. Gallagher tied for 31st at the Senior Women’s Open and implemented those changes in her next USGA championship, the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in which she missed the cut, and this week at Broadmoor.
“A lot of things were the same, but she did a few things around the green differently than I do, and a lot of players do during practice rounds,” Gallagher said. “She spent a lot of time reading putts. I think during practice rounds you find yourself putting around to get a general idea of slope and speed, which she did too. But on many holes, she marked her ball and read the putt to see if it was breaking similarly or not to what her eyes were seeing. That was really something to change in the way I do and approach things during a practice round.”
Gallagher arrived in Seattle with a much bigger target on her back as defending champion. A key moment from her final match against Kuehn was on Gallagher’s mind this week as she aimed to advance through match play expecting each competitor’s best shot.
“I don’t remember what hole, but I was 4-up at the time on Brenda,” Gallagher said. “I have known her for a while, and Brenda is such an incredible player. [My caddie] Erin [Packer] looked at me and said, ‘You know she’s coming for you.’ I started laughing and said, ‘I know.’ The fact I had gotten up that much so early was unexpected, and I knew she would eventually start making birdies, and she did.
“I think Erin saying that kept me in the moment and didn’t let me get too far ahead. That’s one memory I will replay in my head in other matches to remind myself you are never too far ahead in match play.”
Though lifting the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur trophy once again is the goal, Gallagher is keeping it all in perspective.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say a successful week would be winning again,” Gallagher said. “I know that it’s going to be a tall task, and there’s a lot of phenomenal players who will be there and want to do the exact same thing.
“I’m going to feel pretty good about the outcome if I go out there and feel I did everything I could to prepare properly and managed my game the best I can. If you get beat, you get beat. You can only control what you can control. If I do that, I’ll feel pretty successful no matter the outcome.”
